mostafa3k

I have a relatively stock '98 A4 Trans Am... What would it take to convert the 2.83 gears to 3.23... or possibly 3.42 gears? Any new parts i need to buy outside the gears? and what should i look for when buying?

I'm a bit of a beginner on this topic. The car is my daily driver, so I'm not about to up my ratios to 3.73. And would it be cheaper to get the gears changed and my differential serviced at the same time?

And what kind of gains can i expect form these two sets?

3rdgentug

iTrader: (23)

if you have a 2.73 rear gear to go to either lower 3.23 or the 3.42 you are going to have to get either a richmond thick gear or buy a new 3 series carrier for those gears.
IMO go w/ the 3.73 i am and most people w/ A4 trannys do. You will still get over 20 mph and the ls1 really wakes up w/ this gear. I wasnt happy at all w/ my 3.42 in my 99.

98Grnz28

iTrader: (7)

What 3rdgentug said 3.42 or 3.73 (what i would go with)

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

You obviously need gears. Luckily there are gear sets out there that will fit you series 2 carrier, but give you 3.42 or 3.73 ratios.

But you need a few other thing to do this right. You'd need a Ring&pinion installation kit. That comes with new bearings, marking compound and shims. That way you don't have 6 year old bearing in the car that are worn. That's a lot of work to re-do later because you didn't do it right the first time. You need the shims because all pinion gears and differentials must be shimmed properly to prevent noises and chewing up the gears and/or bearings.

Then, you have to do something to recalibrate you speedometer..... The easiest way is a flash programmer like a Predator or a Hypertech. I much prefer the Predator, and it gives you a scan tool too, as well as more bottom end power because it disables the GM installed torque management that limits the engines power up until 4k RPM or so.

I'd personally recommend 3.42's to you. That's a 21% deeper gear ratio, and top gear in your trans is like 5th in a 6 speed. Also you have a much deeper 1st gear than a 6-speed car. We use 3.73's for 6-speeds, and either for auto's, but for all around use and better mileage too, the 3.42 is better. It's also stronger, and quieter too.

I would not use Richmond Gears. Very tough, but also tend to be noisy and a bit overprices. We use Precision Gears with very little exception and have been extremely happy with them.

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

just find someone who had an M6 with 3.42s who wan't to go up to something higher.....then buy their entire gear set and diff..........

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

That would work too.... the speedo would still be off, but you'd need only slap the axle in the car, which isn't hard.

2001NBMZ28

That's what I did, bought a low mileage M6 3.42 rear from a buddy. If you go that route make sure you get the same channel rear (don't switch a TCS rear to a NON TCS car, or visa versa).

mostafa3k

Is there any downside to not upgrading to a 3 series carrier right out of the box? ie: Am i putting my rearend under unneccessary stress by staying with the 2-series?